THE NEW JERUSALEM
Newsletter (Digital)
We are two men—a father and son, one a storyteller, the other a scholar. Informed by tradition, led by faith, inspired by beauty, we are seeking the trailhead of the road to the New Jerusalem.
Every month, one or the other of us will post an essay about the ongoing assault on humanity. We will take turns laying out the case for human life against the corrosive forces of anti-humanism. But these essays will only be the beginning. For the rest of the month, Monday through Thursday, we will write daily letters back and forth to one another in which we wrestle with the problems we’ve raised, discussing works of art, news events, and modern cultural products that help inform the conversation.
On Fridays, for those that would like to support the publication financially, we’ll highlight one work of literature, film, or visual art from the Western canon that we think speaks profoundly to the human condition, and we’ll keep a list for those that might find it helpful as a resource. By the end of a year, we hope we’ll have made some headway toward charting out an alternative path toward life in the 21st century and beyond.
It’s been our joy and blessing that the natural relationship between us has grown into an intellectual and spiritual collaboration as well. Since that kind of organic communion is one hallmark of humanity worth saving, we think it’s right to make it a core part of what we offer here. Over the years, we’ve grown to realize that our distinct perspectives and disciplines—artistic and philosophical, emotional and rational—complement one another best in dialogue. These conversations have shaped us both profoundly. We hope you’ll benefit from joining in. Source
Actions
Media Outlet details
| Scope | N/A |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Country | N/A |
Similarweb UVM
|
Request pricing |
Comscore UVM
|
Request pricing |
Recent Articles
Search ArticlesWhy is Hope a Christian Virtue?
This is the opening to my Daily Wire podcast for the 25th anniversary of 9/11. I thought you might like to read it. Every American remembers where he was on 9/11, 2001. It was the same in my generation with the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Dark days such as these may not cause the dark history that follows them, but it’s difficult not to feel that they mark the place in time where a certain shadow fell.
Aspiration, Per Astra’s Ad
OpenAI has unveiled GPT-6 Astra, which means it’s time for another round of Let’s Freak Out. This is where we debate whether this computer update will end the world or save it, no third option allowed. I confess I’m getting a little tired of this game, which feels rhetorically overheated on both sides and sort of predictable at this point. Astra looks cool. Bet it’ll be really helpful for: looking things up, writing code, ordering food, brainstorming interior design, tracking calories.
Women at the Speed of Life
I spent much of this week thinking about women’s bodies, which I guess makes it like just about every other week. But cheap, sleazy jokes aside, I actually do have something to say on the topic. The context, of course, is the Lindsay Clancy trial. Lindsay, according to Clancy’s defense attorney, was “a darn good mother,” up till the moment she strangled her three beautiful children to death.
What To Do With Your Free Time
Charles Caleb Ward, The Height of Her Ambition Last week, the wonderful Hugh Hewitt asked me on-air what my ambition in life is. I confess I was taken aback. It’s a great question, just not the kind that interviewers are typically generous enough to ask. And I was surprised to find that I had to think for a second before answering, despite the fact that I consider myself a person of huge ambition. You could even say it’s a character flaw.
Is Conservatism Anti-Art?
[Contains spoilers to the film The Invite] There are several reasons why conservatives lag in contributing to the arts. For one thing, they are blacklisted. Movie studios and publishing houses ban their opinions and ideas. This is not only true on the individual level, where politicians like the late Dianne Feinstein collude with Hollywood moguls to terrorize and suppress those who create non-leftist content like The Path to 9/11, 24 and Zero Dark Thirty. It’s true on the corporate level as well.
Spider-Man and the Medieval Mind
If you’ll permit me, I would like to wildly overthink Spider-Man: Brand New Day with you for a minute or two. Won’t that be fun? I think that will be fun. Okay, here we go. This is the fourth Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland as Spidey and Zendaya as “MJ” (she is not called Mary Jane in this version because she is Zendaya and Zendaya is too cool for that or something).
Coming Soon: MORE Klavans on the Culture
Hey folks, The dynamic duo is BACK together on Daily Wire this week for another episode of Klavans on the Culture. We’ll be discussing the mega-hit Spider-Man: Brand New Day. What does it say about our society that this summer of interesting movies has peaked in an adaptation of a Homeric poem and a comic book sequel? We’ll investigate the Marvel era as a whole and the enduring appeal of American superheroes. Watch this space for the new episode, plus an essay from Spencer on Friday.
How to Hate the Arts
I think we’ve all said more than enough about Christopher Nolan’s Odysseus. But to give the briefest recap… The movie was an entertaining summer epic with fun set pieces. It fell short artistically due to some heavy-handed ruminations on the fall of Western civilization which seemed out of character for Odysseus as the film portrayed him. Engrossing. Good popcorn. Nice to hear moderns discussing and reading this foundational poem. Not a major piece of cinematic art.
What Christopher Nolan Can't Depict
Friends, At long last, the review you’ve all been waiting for: Klavan the classicist and Klavan the storyteller on Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey. I don’t think either of us anticipated what a sensation this movie would become, and what a huge dialogue it would initiate in the wider culture. But we were very excited to talk it all over together, and particularly interested in how Nolan deals with the supernatural.
The Bow of Nolan's Odysseus
At this point I think I may have written about Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey from just about every angle I can come up with—except for one really important one. I’m waiting to discuss a key issue, Nolan’s treatment of the Greek gods, until we can get into it on our next episode of Klavans on the Culture.